Overview:
Having played through the demo, I thought it was competent and adequate enough for a slice-of-life VN with some romance that told a coming-of-age story.
Cons:
There were some grammatical issues. Erika didn't have shading in one of her character expressions. When the main characters were at the food court, their character sprites looked smaller compared to the zoomed in background of the food court, which looked off to me. Furthermore, when the characters moved away and slid off screen, they didn't turn and face the direction they were moving towards. Otherwise, the story had a slow start, and it felt boring due to a lack of tension and conflict in a lot of scenes.
Pros:
However, with this being a more chill VN, that's understandable and to be expected. I did love the character designs and the backgrounds, especially the added touches of art during special scenes. It gave the story a better sense of time and place to its surroundings and the characters who lived in its world. I loved the hint of romance that was cut short as well. Finally, I thought the story became interesting when Carter met one of Erika's rivals. I felt that was when the first true sign of conflict came up that felt tense and intriguing.
Final Thoughts:
All in all, I'm interested in seeing how this visual novel shapes up. The cast of characters are unique and distinct enough from one another, and I liked how I got a sense of each of them through this short demo. The mystery behind Carter's past life is intriguing, too. His one-on-one moments with the girls are well-written and endearing, too. Keep up the good work! Can't wait to play through more of it!